History of the Ecoplow
The Ecoplow had its origins on Geoff Burnside's farm called "Cooinda" at Pyramid Hill in 1993. This occurred when Geoff Burnside and Ross Hercott began a soil reclamation project on the farm. Salinity was a major factor, along with declining rainfall figures.
At left is Geoff peering across his land which was classified as C & D class, totally unsuitable for any agricultural purpose.
After extensive searching for the right tool to work the soil, they eventually found that the Wallace plough was the best available machine to do the work required in compacted country which was extremely hard to open up.
The Ecoplow was gradually built through trial and error to suit the
particular farming needs of this all too familiar situation in Australia's
agricultural sector today. 
Compacted
soils and declining rainfall are two very common problems facing many
of our nation's farmers. The original Wallace plough had been around
the farming sector since the early 1960's but required several modifications
to bring its design into the 21st century.
The first requirement was for hydraulics to be added for height and coulter adjustment from the tractor seat, an important safety factor as well as providing convenience for the operator. Next, the bushes were replaced with Garmax bushes eliminating the need for grease and providing a long life bush which needed no maintenance. A heavy duty hitch which rotates and twists was also necessary and added to the growing list of improvements.
The most important change of all was in the point itself. This is where most of the research and development work has been done in developing a point which cuts through hard ground cleanly and is long lasting in all types of country. The coating of the point is directly bonded tungsten onto the point surface with a specially laminated tip which works exceptionally well. This gives the point the ability to aerate deeply without altering the soil profile.
This
plough is taking over from where the Wallace plough left off. If used
properly, the plough will eradicate many of the farming problems being
experienced the world over. Consider the evidence and see the results.
Think outside the square and you too will be converting low producing,
compacting and salty ground back into valuable farm property.
At left is an image of the first crop put in on "Cooinda" using no fertiliser an deep tillage. It was an experimental area.
Note the line through the paddock which identifies the areas sown using super to the left and the area sown using natural farming and deep tillage to the right. You can clearly see the difference in the color of the crop. At the ute are Ross Hercott and Geoff Burnside looking at the crop. You can clearly see the difference in the height of the plants and the color.
Above is an image of "Cooinda" now. The ground has been transformed using Natural Farming, deep tillage and no superphosphate. It is now classified A & B type ground.
